Plants Can Be Toxic Too.

The modern dog is an omnivore, thriving not only on meat but requiring a fully balanced meal which includes vegetables of all kinds. A dog will not normally eat the numerous poisonous plants in your garden, and will co-exists happily with various potentially poisonous plants for its entire life. Many poisonous plants are so common and seemingly innocuous you would not suspect their toxic qualities. Who would expect that these beautiful decorative plants that we see every day, could endanger the life of your pet (or family). Plants can be quite deceptive. Some parts of a plant might be used in regular food preparation, while other parts of the same plant could be toxic. At the same time, even the toxic plants could be edible when processed in a specific manner. There is obviously no need to panic or uproot your garden to protect your pet. When one plant in a family of plants is toxic, you must be particularly suspicious of the other plants in that family. The following is a list of some common plants that you might find in your garden which have toxic qualities. If you should catch you dog especially puppies) eating or chewing on any of these plants, seek medical help. Don’t forget to take with you, a sample of the plant for your vet to see.

Some poisonous garden plants common in Nigeria:

Elephant Ears and others of the Alocasia family. (Leaves and Stems are toxic)

Frangipani (Plumeria Acuminata) – The sap is toxic.

Mother-in-Law’s Tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata). Stiff, leathery, long, strap-like leaves, often mottled dark green and cream or white with small whitish, scented flowers, on an elongated stem. The poisonous part is the fruit or berry.

Philodendron family of vines: These climbing vines with aerial roots have large and variable, heart-shaped leaves that are often streaked with yellow. The whole plant is injurious.

Marigolds (Tagetes spp). Herbs, glanddotted and aromatic. Colours in variations of red, yellow orange and combinations thereof. Often seen growing wild around Jos, in Plateau State.

Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus). Erect herb; flowers with slender tube and 5 spreading lobes, rosepink, white, or white with a reddish eye.

Oleander (Nerium oleander) : The poisonous effect of the oleander has been well known for centuries.. The oleander contains the toxic glycoside oleandrin. The oleander is an evergreen bush which can reach up to 5 m in height. It has dark green spearshaped leaves and scented white, red or orange blossoms. The bush is cultivated as a decorative plant all over the world. All of its parts are very poisonous. For example, one leaf is enough to cause death.

Arrowhead Vine, African Evergreen (Syngonium podophyllum: Evergreen, climbing herb; leaves alternate, simple, arrow-shaped, often mottled

Cassava, manioc (Manihot esculenta): A bushy herb or shrub with elongated tubers; leaves alternate, simple, deeply lobed. Used in preparing Garri. Flowers inconspicuous; fruit a 6 - angled globose capsule. Cyanogenic poisoning in the raw roots or peelings of the tubers. Local food technology is designed to remove all traces of the cyanide.

African Blue Lily (Agapanthus orientalis): Herb with fleshy roots, the stem thick and short; leaves long and grass-like; flowers in a terminalcluster, each tubular, blue or white, with 6 petal-like parts. Plant sap in leaves is poisonous.

Dumbcane (Dieffenbachia) : This plant grows as high as 6ft. Theleaves are large and obling, and can be entirely green or motled white and green. The entire plant is poisonous.

Croton (Codiaeum variegatum):Shrub with alternate, simple leaves mottled with white, yellow, or red; white flowers.